Drive In Photo Gimmick Rally. May 18, hosted by Minnesota Austin-Healey Club

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1 July 2002 vol. I, no. 4 InterMarque Calendar Highlights Details Inside! June 22 & 23 Wissconsin Road Trip to Chippewa Falls & Eau Claire July 18 IM Day at National Triumph Convention in Red Wing July Brian Redman International Challenge, Elkhart Lake WI August 10 Ellingson s Swap Meet & Car Show in Rogers August 25 InterMarque Potluck Picnic, location tbd September 7 Wheels and Wings, Osceola, WI June 5-8, 2003 Lake Superior Vintage Sports Car Rendezvous, Thunder Bary, Canada Drive In Photo Gimmick Rally May 18, hosted by Minnesota Austin-Healey Club The Drive In Photo Gimmick Rally took off from the Dari-Ette Drive In in East St. Paul. (If there s one thing you will learn from participating in rallies, it s that rallymasters favor good roads and good food in just about equal quantities. Even if you don t win, place or show in the rally, you ll come in first with your friends who ask, How did you ever find this great place? ) After a month of miserably wet weekends, the 18th was finally dry and sunny. Temps in the mid-50s gave the fashion conscious an excuse to wear their club jackets and string-back driving gloves. Nine cars, from Healeys to Jags, Triumphs, Alfas and Hondas gathered in the Dari-Ette parking lot. Some people ordered from the parking lot squack boxes; the technologicallychallenged went up to the window. As the sign says, this is NOT a fast food restaurant. It s not that slow but the staff does know what it s doing and actually cooks the food, a welcome change from McMediocre. Car hops delivered the meals to the vehicles. Those of you who are concours afficianados should know that it is not necessary to risk a paint scratch by placing a tray on the car. The squack box islands have built-tray holders. (These would likely also prove useful for MGT s and TR3 s on which it is difficult to mount a tray. None of these vehicles showed up, however.) continued on page 4

2 INTER NTERMARQUE CALENDAR INTERMARQUE SHOWS & EVENTS JUNE 22 & 23 Wisconsin Weekend Road Trip Meet at 11:00 a.m. in Chippewa Falls, WI, at either the Leinie Brewery or Irvine Park down the street. Brewery tours at 12:00 and 12:15 p.m. Picnic (byo) in the park. Tour directions handed out at the park. Lodging in CF at the AmericInn ( ). Mention MN MG Group and try to get the $79.01 rate but it may be too late for that. Info: Ken or Diane Merrill JULY 18 InterMarque Day at VTR2002 Treasure Island Casino, Red Wing, Minnesota. This is the national Triumph gathering and the Vintage Triumph Register invites you to bring your non-triumph vintage car down. They ll have a special area set up to park. Come on down and take a gander. Contact: Andy Lindberg or andylindberg@earthlink.net JULY Brian Redman International Challenge Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI. Hosted by VSCDA. Automotive art, vendors, auction, race car parade, race car concours, See info below under races. AUGUST 10 Ellingson Swap Meet and Car Show Ellingson s Auto Museum, I-94 and Hwy 101, Rogers, MN. Hosted by the Minnesota MG Group. Sell the part you don t need, buy the part you do. Plus all makes and models in the show. Contact: AUGUST 24 & 25 Mille Miglia Tour and Dinner Cruise Prescott to LaCrosse, WI. Hosted by Alfa Romeo. Details are still being worked out but the hope is that this will include a dinner cruise on the steam-powered paddleboat Julie Belle Swain. Contact: Ed Solstad or esolstad@pressenter.com AUGUST 25 InterMarque Picnic 1:00 p.m., location tbd. Informal pot-luck gathering. Interesting cars, interesting people, interesting food. Info: Andy Lindberg or andylindberg@earthlink.net SEPTEMBER 7 Wheels & Wings Osceola, Wisconsin. Hosted by Motorbooks International. We ve received word that this is definitely on for Huzzah!!!!!! SEPTEMBER 8 British Car Festival (Field Day) Palos Hills, IL. Hosted by the British Car Union. The 2001 event had over 780 British cars present on a rainy day. There are also some events on September 7. Contact: RECURRING INTERMARQUE EVENTS Intermarque Rally School, JUNE 16, JULY 14, AUGUST 4 All schools are at 1:30 p.m. at Sherlock s Home, Hwy. 62 & Shady Oak Road, Minnetonka. Rallying is a great way to get your classic out on the best sports car roads in the area. The Rally Masters have spent a lifetime learning where all the twisty-turnies are, and you can enjoy them too. You can be competitive if you want or you can just run the course as a tour. A few lessons on how to read rally instructions, however, probably wouldn t hurt. The schools are being conducted by some of the premier rallyists in the Twin Cities Area. Contacts: Ed Solstad esolstad@pressenter.com; Sean Connolly ; Tom Hazen tom_hazen@adp.com; Steve Rixen steve@rixen.com British Built Cars Informal car show every Sunday through October 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., Sherlock s Home, Hwy. 62 & Shady Oak Road, Minnetonka. (p.s., Some non-brit cars attend.) Contact: Sherlock s JUNE 16 JUNE 23 JULY 14 JULY INTERMARQUE RACES & RALLIES MOWOG III Midway Stadium. Hosted by the Minnesota Autosports Club. Amateur autocross, vintage, modern, and race vehicles. Contact Dwight McCullough or Mearns Meander Rally Sherlock s Home, Hwy. 62 & Shady Oak Road, Minnetonka. Hosted by Jaguars of Minnesota. Contact: Peter Griffin MOWOG IV Eau Claire or St. Cloud. Hosted by the Minnesota Autosports Club. Amateur autocross, vintage, modern, and race vehicles. Info: Dwight McCullough or Brian Redman International Challenge Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI. Hosted by VSCDA, the Vintage Sports Car Drivers Association. Automotive art and vendor fair, Mecum auction, race car InterMarque Monthly, July 2002, page 2

3 parade, race car concours, Sir Jack Brabham autograph session, dancing under the stars, drive your car on the track, racing, and touring. If you ve never been, you owe to yourself to attend at least once. Contacts: VSCDA and Road America & AUGUST 11 Svenska Klassick Rally Minnetonka. Info: Dean Nelson or AUGUST 11 MOWOG V Hennepin Tech. Hosted by the Minnesota Autosports Club. Amateur autocross, vintage, modern, and race vehicles. Contact Dwight McCullough or SEPTEMBER 15 Oktoberally LaCrosse, WI. Hosted by LOL. Contact Mike Thompson SEPTEMBER Elkhart Lake Vintage Festival Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI. Celebrate Austin Healey s 50th Anniversary. Enjoy fall colors and MGs, Triumphs, Elvas, Loti, Bugattis and more. Hosted by VSCDA, the Vintage Sports Driving Association. Contacts: VSCDA and Road America & SEPTEMBER 29 MOWOG VI Midway Stadium. Hosted by the Minnesota Autosports Club. Amateur autocross, vintage, modern, and race vehicles. Contact Dwight McCullough or OCTOBER 13 MOWOG VII Midway Stadium. Hosted by the Minnesota Autosports Club. Amateur autocross, vintage, modern, and race vehicles. Contact Dwight McCullough or JUNE JUNE JULY 3-6 JULY 4-7 JULY MARQUE NATIONALS Sunbeam Invasion II Sunbeam Alpine Owners Club of America, Dayton, Ohio Healey International Open Roads 2002 Austin Healey Club of America, Lake Tahoe, California. Over 500 already registered. Info: North American MGB Register International Convention Grapevine, Texas. Info: Alfiesta 2002 Alfa Romeo Owners Club USA, Newport Beach, California. Info: Gathering of the Faithful - Central MG T Register. Moline, Illinois JULY VTR 2002 Vintage Triumph Register. Treasure Island Resort & Casino, Red Wing, Minnesota. Hosted by Minnesota Triumphs. Info: Bob Lee or JULY North America MGA Register Get Together Charlottesville, Virginia. Info Bruce Woodson CVMGA@aol.com JULY Fiat Freak Out 2002 Fiat Lancia Unlimited national convention, Niagara Falls, New York. Info: AUGUST 9-11 International Citroën Car Club Rally Amherst, Massachusetts. The first international to be held in the USA. Info: SEPTEMBER 7-8 AMGBA National Meet Palo Alto, California. Info: SEPTEMBER LOG 22 Lotus Owners Gathering, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Info: REGULAR CLUB EVENTS Lotus Owners of the North (LOON) Informal gathering, third Sunday of the month at Sherlock s Home BBC event (see previous page). Info: Terry Pitts ADDRESS Minnesota Austin-Healey Club Pie With the President, first Wednesday of the month (except Dec.), 7:00 p.m. Bakers Square, Highland Village, St. Paul. Info: Dan Wolters dan.wolters@goodrich.com or Minnesota MG T Register Friday MG Luncheons, every Friday, 11:15 a.m. Frenchman s, 1400 E. 66th Street, Richfield. Info: Bob Figenskau or Minnesota Triumphs Monthly Meeting, second Thursday of the month (except Nov. & Dec.), 7:00 p.m., Fort Snelling Officers Club. Info: Pat Holt or clubs.hemmings.com/mntriumphs/ InterMarque Monthly, July 2002, page 3

4 continued from page 1 By and by everyone finished their lunch and rally-master Tom Hazen called the navigators meeting to order. A photo rally uses photographs rather than diagrams and words for the driving instructions. See the photo below. Some instructions were obvious; others required more attention to one s surroundings. Just to make it a little more interesting, the rally-master included questions that could be answered along the way. For example: List the current price for a gallon of Supra at Holiday, How many pines are on the Pine Haven sign, and Why is this road so stinky? The first car was waved out at 1:01 p.m. Tom said the route should take three hours. Like the Captain and Gilligan, however, most participants took a little while longer to finish their voyage. The route went north past White Bear Lake, east to Marine on St. Croix, north past William O Brien State Park to Lindstron, east again to Taylors Falls, west to Wyoming, and then south to finish at Gabe s in St. Paul. The first car arrived at about 6:00 p.m. The top three contestants were close in the standings but first prize went to Dave Lee and Curt Carlson in Dave s Austin-Healey 3000 MkIII. Second place went to Barb Blahoski and Elaine Swanson, Alfa club members in a generic Honda. The award for third was received by Barb and Gary Ronning in another Austin-Healey Tom may do another rally in August. Watch for it! The Halda Speedpilot may not have helped (Paul and Vicki Katz came in fourth), but it s fun nevertheless. InterMarque Car Show & Banquet May 19, hosted by InterMarque Council Forty-seven cars, from four different countries and six different decades, registered at the InterMarque Car Show and Banquet. The traditional season opener featured at least fifteen different marques arrayed around Sherlock s Home restaurant and pub in Minnetonka. There were probably another twenty unregistered cars parked on and around the show grounds. Participants spent several hours admiring each other s cars and answering questions from visitors. Bill Burdick opened the bar earlier than the normal 4:00 p.m. and many people enjoyed a brewed-on-the-premises bitter or stout while they took in the automotive goodies. Highlights of the show included a Maserati Ghibli, an Aston Martin Lagonda, a brace of new Minis, an MGA-styled trailer attached to an MGA, and a Bentley complete with its own Bentley Racing banner. Some clubs also brought banners and hung them on the fence around the parking lot. When participants drove in, they registered, were given a car sign and participants choice ballots, and asked to find their own spot in the parking lot. Areas were not reserved for makes or nationalities but some informal groupings appeared nonetheless. At 4:00 p.m., more or less, people entered Sherlock s, were shown to their tables, and ordered off the menu. After most diners had slacked their hunger and thirst, Keith Galberth of the InterMarque Council stood and got the InterMarque Monthly, July 2002, page 4

5 InterMarque Car Show Winners (left to right): Simon Bosworth, People s Choice , 2002 Mini Cooper Pat Holt, Diamond in the Rough, 1961 Triumph TR3A Michael Barone, Platinum Piston Award (for cars needing a power boost), Minnesota Citroen Club Fay Gowenburg, People s Choice , 1973 Citroen 2CV Mike Marion, People s Choice , 1954 Austin-Healey 100. At the InterMarque Car Show: Six cars, six marques, four nationalities, and only three colors. (Where did that British Racing Green Fiat and Olde English White Alfa come from anyhow? To say nothing of the Italian red Porsche, Triumph, and Citroen.) proceedings underway. He introduced Andy Lindberg who, in turn, introduced the clubs in attendance. Next, garage guru Mark Brandow talked about his beginnings in the business. Keith then gave the Platinum Piston Award to the Citroen Club and Michael Barone for the vehicles most needing horsepower augmentation. (The award was for the 2CVs present, not the SM with the Maserati engine. Finally Bob Reed had counted the participants choice ballots and the winners were announced: a 1954 Austin- Healey 100; a 1973 Citroen 2CV; a 2003 Mini Cooper; and a 1961 Triumph TR3A. You can t say that participants weren t eclectic. Winners were two British cars announced at the same Earl s Court Motor Show fifty years ago, one vehicle designed with the objective of being able to carry a basket of eggs across a plowed field without breaking one, and a German/English hybrid for the 21st century. Hip, hip, hooray. C est magnifigue. Brit Car Day Picnic June 1, hosted by Minnesota Minis Dave Wintz opened his shop, New Life to Classics, and provided sodas and desserts for a miscellaneous crew of vintage cars that made their way to Mankato. Most of the thirty to forty cars were from the Twin Cities and they had a great day for the drive. Temps were in the eighties (two MGs showed up with A/C), the sun was bright, and the only uncomfortable aspect of the trip was a wind that almost blew some roadster drivers out of their cars. Minis in a Row (Hey, the new movie, The Bourne Identity, apparently has a Mini chase scene that brings back memories of The Italian Job.) InterMarque Monthly, July 2002, page 5

6 Vintage Sports Car Rendezvous June 6-9, hosted by Minnesota Austin-Healey Club One hundred twenty cars registered for this year s Vintage Sports Car Rendezvous, held at Ruttger s Sugar Lake Lodge outside Grand Rapids, MN. The cars came not only from Ruttgers welcomed attendees with a reserved parking lot just outside the lodge. Their hospitality was outstanding throughout the event. Minnesota, but also Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and parts inbetween and beyond. The long distance award was taken by three Canadian guys who made a 465 mile trip in a bright yellow Mini. The Walleye Rallye, first driving event of the Rendezvous, got underway Friday at 9:00 a.m. Under dark and threatening skies, the cars gathered outside the lodge and were flagged out by rally cocoordinator Curt Carlson. (Curt also warned participants that the highway department had converted a six-mile stretch of the route from concrete to gravel during the past week.) The rally was about 140 miles long and took Cyndi Myers does the gymkhana course in her TR8. It was a handling course, not a power course, so the V8 didn t help a lot. (Nor did the flames for that matter.) several hours to complete. In addition to finding your way (not too difficult), there were a number of questions to answer as well (very difficult). First prize was taken by Dave and Kim Meek in Jaguar XK-150 who got zero (nada!) questions wrong. Wow! When most of the rallyists and tourists had returned to the lodge, Ernie West conducted a tech session on SU carbs (with a few comments on Zenith Strombergs to keep the TR6 drivers in the audience happy). Ernie is the major domo at Dead Lake Motors which has to be the coolest name ever for a British car shop. Start of the Walleye Rallye (photo by Keith Galbreth) After an Italian buffet dinner, participants with a strong stomach were treated to the Miss Rendezvous Contest. Names of participants are being withheld until their family and (photo by Keith Galbreth) The less said about the Miss Rendezvous contest the better. InterMarque Monthly, July 2002, page 6

7 Festivities went into the night and attendees left Sunday morning faced with only one big decision -- should we put up the top or not? (From what this reporter has heard, you didn t need it heading south, but any other direction required lots of weather protection.) There were a lot of MG s at the Rendezvous. Jaguars, too. cousenlors can be notified but the audience seemed to enjoy it. Following that, there were carnival games to earn Healey Dollars for the Saturday evening auction. Saturday came bright and early and cars took off for the gymkhana at the Grand Rapids high school. It was a tight course and square body Sprites cleaned up in both the men s and women s classes. (Kevin Dissey and Donna Patterson) There were unconfirmed reports of one big Healey doing multiple donuts on the course. Later that day, the car show and popularity contest was held. Cars were positioned by make around the lakefront. When the results were announced later, it appeared that participants had a penchant for older vehicles. A North Dakota TR3A took the Triumph class, a Morris Minor won in other British, a Porsche 356 captured non-british, MGA s got the first three positions in the MG class, an XK120 took Jag, big Healey s won in the big and little Healey class, and a Morgan won in Morgans. Some winners are pictured at right. Midwest Motor Sport Open House April 27, hosted by Minnesota MG Group story and photos by Daniel Buchen On Saturday, Midwest Motor Sports in Sauk Rapids hosted an open house. The shop was available for visitors to work on their vehicles and staff were available for advise and assistance. The day was cold and light snow was in the The inside of Dan s shop. (By the way, that s his XK120 in the picture to the left.) air, but the MG club braved the weather to arrive with several of their vintage cars. Simon Bosworth brought his beautiful new Mini which attracted a InterMarque Monthly, July 2002, page 7

8 Remember Winter? Remember April? InterMarque Ad of the Month Comment: How can a show quality car need TLC? Was the show class diamond in the rough? great deal of attention and he generously allowed friends a test drive. A lunch was provided and it was a pleasant kick off to the driving season despite the wintery day. Midwest Motor Sports, Inc. 26 South lst Street Sauk Rapids, MN (320) Dan lburg (MG & Jag club member) is the owner. The shop hours are M-F They are located about 80 miles NW of the Twin Cities, but they offer free flatbed pickup of ailing vehicles. Usually the owner will drive his repaired vehicle home, but for work of over $ Dan will deliver the car home by flatbed. They do not do body work, but specialize in mechanical and restoration work for foreign built vehicles. From the look of cars Dan and his staff have completed (including his XKI20 Jag), this appears to be a great place to have work done on your classic. Small Print InterMarque Monthly is published monthly (duh) by Andy Lindberg (andylindberg@earthlink.net). Much of its information comes from the Twin Cities Inter Marque Council of Vintage Sports Car Clubs but it is not part of that organization. It is intended to provide news to owners of vintage cars (of all makes and models), not to compete with any club s newsletters or other communication device. Tech Tip of the Month If your MGA runs too warm, try adjusting the angle of the grill bars with a needle nose pliers. Joe Olson illustrates the technique (on his own MGA). Marque Clubs of the Upper Midwest Citroën Car Club of Minnesota ( Jaguar Club of Minnesota ( ) Minnesota Austin-Healey Club ( Minnesota MG Group ( Minnesota MG T Register ( Mini-Sota Minis, Pizza Eating, and Psychiatric Self- Help Assn ( Minnesota Morgans (ljmlshields@msn.com) Minnesota Triumphs (clubs.hemmings.com/ mntriumphs/) Stella del Nord Chapter Alfa Romeo Owners Club (esolstad@pressenter.com) InterMarque Monthly, July 2002, page 8